Ten Tusculum College students and two professors are making plans to visit the art, architecture and history of Renaissance and Reformation Europe when they take their classroom to Europe in March.
Because of the uniqueness of the “one class at a time” block schedule offered at Tusculum College, students enrolled in “Politics and Religion in Renaissance and Reformation Europe” will spend two weeks in traditional class work and then take their classroom on the road to see firsthand where the Renaissance was born and where key historical moments took place.
Leading the trip are Dr. Joel Van Amberg, assistant professor of history, and Dr. James Reid, professor of political science. “After two weeks of traditional coursework we will travel to Europe to visit some of the major sites, buildings and images associated with the Renaissance and Reformation,” said Van Amberg.
“There are historical realities that are sometimes hard to understand without traveling to the location where those realities took place,” he said. Van Amberg added that in addition to the significant political science, religion and historical topics that they will investigate during the trip, they will also explore the “incredible developments in paintings, sculpture and architecture” that occurred during the Renaissance and Reformation. There is just no substitute for actually seeing these masterpieces.”
On the itinerary for the trip are visits to Rome and Florence, Italy; Wittenberg, Germany, and Geneva and Zurich, Switzerland. The trip is planned for March and will cover nearly two weeks.
While several of the students are history or political science majors, several others enrolled in the class for the experience of learning the topic first hand and on the original sites where the movements were born.
According to Van Amberg, another positive aspect of the trip is that many of Tusculum’s students have never done any traveling abroad. “This experience will help students and reduce the anxiety associated with international travel. Hopefully it will clear the way for them to take advantage of other travel opportunities offered in the future.”
The student Europe trip is part of Tusculum College’s efforts to increase the number of students who have an international experience during their college career. As part of this campus wide goal, the College formed the Center for Global Studies in spring 2008, with a mission to “enhance the capacity of individuals and organizations to address local and global challenges through building relationships with communities, institutions of higher learning and organizations globally.”
Faculty members from several academic disciplines traveled to Belize in the spring to investigate ways to integrate international travel into their curriculum, and five Tusculum College professors spent time this summer in Northeast Italy in similar activities to pave the way for future student trips.
The professors included Dr. Greg Church, associate professor of biology; Dr. Troy Goodale, assistant professor of political science; Dennis Lingerfelt, assistant professor of computer science, and Craig Wright, assistant professor of business administration.
According to Church, the 11-day, cross-disciplined trip included dramatic landscapes, varied cultures and more than 5,000 years of history, art and architecture. “Italy is an entirely different culture in the north and in the south,” said Church. The north is very Germanic and both German and Italian are common languages, with the exception of Venice, which is a very traditional Italian city.” He added that the trip introduced the faculty group to a small but diverse region of Northeast Italy, including Merano, Bolzano, Arabba and Venice.
“There were abundant opportunities to learn about history from Roman times to the present, as well as the progression of art and architectural styles throughout these historical periods,” he said.
It was important for the group to focus on what they wanted to bring back from their experience to share with others at the College and to utilize in possibly planning future student trips. As a group, they defined the main learning outcomes of this trip as gaining insights into the history, culture, educational systems, healthcare systems, transportation infrastructure, nature, art, and architecture of this fascinating region.
For Lingerfelt, this was his first trip out of the United States and a tremendous learning experience that he said broadened his horizons and makes him a better educator and advisor for students considering international travel.
“Before I couldn’t really advise students on these types of opportunities – I didn’t have that experience. Now I have some experience and knowledge to pass along, and I feel much more adept at discussing (these opportunities) with students,” he said.
In addition, Lingerfelt brought back real-world experiences to share with his computer science classes.
“Language is a barrier not only in spoken word, but with keyboards,” said Lingerfelt, “There is some loss in functionality when a “c” in Italian is not equal to a “c” in English. He has already incorporated this into his classroom discussions on standardization.
Church led the trip and has traveled internationally several times before, many times with students, and understands the value of the international experience.
“Our Board of Trustees recognized a deficiency in our international programs – students weren’t getting the international exposure here, and the Board has placed importance on developing these programs,” he said.